The End
by Palaven Blues
Summary: Unable to watch her die again, Garrus steals the final battle from Shep. Now he has to choose. Inspired byt he July contest-of-the-month, though it doesn't actually qualify.


Garrus gaped at the stupid star-child in disbelief. Was this what he had clipped Shepard for?

"_Hang on, big guy, let me get you to the shuttle."_ Shep moved quickly, dodging debris.

"_I'm fine, I can walk," he protested. Shepard ignored him, levering him to his feet. She was barely in better condition than he was. Harbinger came by for another pass, and Garrus realized it was specifically tracking Shepard; he had only been hit by accident._

_Garrus looked to Shepard. The Reapers weren't going to let her win. Not win and survive, anyway. She was the Shepard, she'd probably win anyway, but she was going to have to die to kill them._

_Not again._

"_Shepard, I'm so sorry. But it's my turn."_

"_What?" She looked up at him and he clipped her on the chin, just hard enough to take her consciousness; thank the spirits humans had a knock-out button. He caught her as she fell and hobbled the rest of the way to the shuttle._

"_The commander's out! Get her safe!"_

_He just couldn't do it again. This time, let him be the one to die._

_Especially since he'd just knocked her out of the final showdown; if he survived, it would only be until she got ahold of him._

_As the shuttle took off, Garrus prayed she'd make it out. Harbinger followed the shuttle; it really was following her. Well, Cortez was a fine pilot. And without the goddamn Reaper in the way, Garrus might actually make it up there to destroy all of them. He lurched toward the beam. Just a little further, he told himself. Just a little further, and then …_

"Choose," the star-child said, breaking him out of his reverie. The light that made up the hologram moved, glowing brighter and dimmer as it spoke.

_Shit, what was he saying? _"Just tell me how to destroy all of you."

"You can destroy the Reapers. It will only be a temporary solution, though. Synthetics will always rise to wipe out organics."

"Bullshit," Garrus growled. He might have believed it before Shepard, but she was a strong believer in geth independence. If she thought they could be trusted, they could. He moved toward the button the AI had indicated. One leg dragged behind him, leaving a thick blue smear on the floor.

"It will also kill all other synthetics," the thing warned.

_Sucks to be you,_ Garrus thought, then he felt a twinge of guilt as he remembered EDI. And Joker; Joker would never forgive him. _Has to be done._

"Including the geth," the star-child said.

Garrus tripped slightly but kept moving. The Reapers needed to be eliminated, forever. If the calculus of war said the geth had to go, too, that was unfortunate, but unavoidable. Shep wouldn't be pleased, but she would understand. He had almost reached the console.

"Commander Shepard is also dependent on her synthetic implants to survive."

Now Garrus stumbled, falling to his knees. "No," he whispered.

"Yes. If you choose to destroy all synthetics, Commander Shepard will not survive."

_Spirits, please, no._ The button was directly in front of his sight-line but he was no longer able to press it. Kill Shepard? How could he? But if he didn't, she was dead anyway, along with everyone else.

"There is another option," the star-kid offered.

"Then tell me!" Garrus roared.

"You can choose to join the network and control the Reapers. You can prevent them from causing further harm. The threat will be over."

_The threat will be omnipresent, always waiting. And I will have undone everything Shep has worked for._ "I … I can't."

"You can. The entire galaxy will be safe from the threat of Reapers, forever. And Commander Shepard will live because of your sacrifice."

_And I'll spend eternity with her disappointment._ "It's not what Shep would have wanted."

Garrus struggled to his feet. There was no option, really. Shepard had spent the last several years, minus time off for being dead, trying to destroy the Reapers. That's what he was going to do.

"Shepard will die! The geth will die!"

_That thing really wants me to control them. Is he … maybe he's lying?_

Hope, painful and hot, stirred in his chest.

"Destroy … will take out _all_ synthetics?" he asked.

"Yes, all. All synthetics everywhere."

"Even the stuff inside the commander."

"All!" the star-child insisted. Overlaid on its piping, childish voice, the dark tones of the Reapers purred quietly.

"Spaceships? Libraries? Pacemakers, everything?"

"Everything! The only way to save them all is by controlling the Reapers."

_Letting them live, you mean. Letting _you_ live. _"I don't think so, you little shit."

Garrus slammed his hand down on the button, sending the order to destroy the Reapers. Behind him, the star-kid screamed, a metallic howl in thousands of artificial voices.

_He's lying. No one dies. And even if they do, it's what Shep would do. The only thing we can do to have the Reapers gone, forever._

Red light started to build inside the Crucible. It was too late to change his mind. What if he was wrong?

The light started to flow through him as well, burning, as the Citadel rumbled, coming apart. Pieces of metal fell from the ceiling. Well, good. At least he would die, too; the entire thing was coming down. The star-child was screaming, still, and now Garrus could make out the words. The geth would die, EDI would die, Commander Shepard would die. It repeated the words over and over again, until Garrus couldn't believe anything else.

_I was wrong,_ he decided. _I destroyed the Reapers, but I was still wrong._ The red light expanded, consuming everything. Everything was going to be destroyed; everything synthetic, everywhere. He had chosen wrong.

Shepard was going to die.

_Shep, please don't die. And if you do, please forgive me. Please, Shep, please—_


End file.
